I had not realised.

[KateLMead]

Whilst waiting for my daughter who was having to have surgery in hospital last Friday I struck up conversation with a gentleman who was waiting for his wife.
He was an officer ( ex Regiment ) and served on active duty in the same countries as my brother who was also in the same regiment he actually recognised his name.
I had not considered the cuts and changes were so extreme,forced on ex servicemen and their families
I knew that those who were left limbless, badly injured mentally as well as physically,when thrown out of the army they and their families are are deserted and forced to surrender their homes having to find alternative accommodation . Prior to these cuts instigated by previous governments injured servicemen were found jobs within the force wherever possible and kept their dignity and accommodation for their families. "Thrown on the scrap heap is appropriate"

[Suff]

Kate, every time you hear about a budget item which is ring fenced, the budget cuts have to come from somewhere else.

Always this will be against those least able to complain.

Every time you hear Clegg going on about the needy in society, fix firmly in your mind those who will pay for it.

[Workingman]

Kate, I worked with many nationalities during NATO exercises and there seemed to be a theme that when you were out, whether it be end of conscription or time served, you were on your own. I think that it was only the Canadians and Norwegians who got a good helping hand.

I see Farage has promised that those leaving the armed forces will be given an opportunity of work in the police, customs, border force and so on. Vote winner methinks. He just keeps coming up with them.

[Kaz]

I think it has pretty much always been thus, as Frank says Kate

Old Farrago* keeps promising, doesn't he Frank "Vote for me and I'll set you free!"

*far•ra•go (fəˈrɑ goʊ, -ˈreɪ-)

n., pl. -goes.
a confused mixture; hodgepodge; medley.

[KateLMead]

I think it has pretty much always been thus, as Frank says Kate

Old Farrago* keeps promising, doesn't he Frank "Vote for me and I'll set you free!"

*far•ra•go (fəˈrɑ goʊ, -ˈreɪ-)

n., pl. -goes.
a confused mixture; hodgepodge; medley.

you are a right cynic Kaz. He Has My Vote. Vote.Vote.

[Kaz]

Bless you Kate, for your faith in the triumph of hope over experience

[pederito1]

Sorry to be nosey, Kate but was it THE operation? If so I hope it went well to repair the botch. xx

[KateLMead]

Two abcessed back teeth top and bottom that the dentist could not remove. So hospital it was, the lump hopefully a polyp was removed from the roof of her mouth and sent off for a biopsy..both teeth broke as the. Surgeon attempted to pull them out. Gus should have been sedated but she wasn't, then the probing cutting hacking took place leaving her in agony,she had an abcess beneath one that had been affecting the glands in her neck. her face looked like a football. I had to take her to town the following day Saturday following an anxious discussion that took around 40 minutes with the out of hours or whatever you call them. On seeng the dentist She was immediately put on antibiotics. She is still in a lot of pain and I am exhausted.
I also had an important meeting yesterday at our lodge, with the annual dinner afterwards. I just could not get myself together to attend.

[Suff]

:D Bless you Kate, for your faith in the triumph of hope over experience

Personally I'd have said that the current situation was the triumph of hope over experience. Bad experience year after year after year. Voters keep voting for the same thing and expecting a different result.....

[Suff]

To be honest, what has Farage promised that would not be relatively trivial to deliver?

Armed forces as security services? They already are. Relatively small changes in taxation which will benefit about 30% of the population? No sudden promises to spend shedloads of money. If it were Cameron saying this they'd be almost happy. If it were Miliband they'd be rolling in the streets with joy....

One of my experiences when going back to College after leaving the army was using a computer modelling system to predict the results of changes in taxation and stimulus. My everlasting impression from that was that very small changes have a massive impact over time. Very large changes have extremely negative impacts over time. Simply put the momentum is so large that it's impossible to bring them under control.

Thinking about this, I believe that someone has grabbed Farage by the neck and given him a short course in political reality. Come May 2015 he may be the third largest party in politics, given that the Lib Dem support continues to collapse. In that case, he would most likely find himself in a coalition. If he wants to join a coalition he absolutely Must set out reasonable and achievable goals now. Then he can negotiation for terms later.

Already he's has a huge positive impact from my position. Tories have been freed to campaign on the EU referendum as they wish. No longer will Tories be expected to toe the line, it will be a "free vote" in terms of how the party supports the referendum. That is directly down to UKIP and it's inroads into the Tory heartland. Tory MP's already stepping down and standing for UKIP before they lose their seat at the next election.... This kind of impact has never been seen on this scale before and I, for one, am very glad of it.